1. CHAPTER 9 Cooperative Strategy
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2. Cooperative Strategy Cooperative Strategy
A strategy in which firms work together to achieve a shared objective.
Cooperating with other firms is a strategy that:
Creates value for a customer.
Exceeds the cost of constructing customer value in other ways.
Establishes a favorable position relative to competitors.
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3. Strategic Alliance
A primary type of cooperative strategy in which firms combine some of their resources and capabilities to create a mutual competitive advantage.
Involves the exchange and sharing of resources and capabilities to co-develop or distribute goods and services.
Requires cooperative behavior from all partners.
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4. Strategic Alliance Behaviors
Examples of cooperative behavior known to contribute to alliance success:
Actively solving problems.
Being trustworthy.
Consistently pursuing ways to combine partners’ resources and capabilities to create value.
Collaborative (Relational) Advantage
A competitive advantage developed through a cooperative strategy.
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5. Strategic Alliance Firm A Firm B Resources Resources Capabilities
Core Competencies
Resources
Capabilities
Core Competencies
Combined
Resources
Capabilities
Core Competencies
Mutual interests in designing, manufacturing,
or distributing goods or services
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6. Three Types of Strategic Alliances
Joint Venture
Two or more firms create a legally independent company by sharing some of their resources and capabilities.
Equity Strategic Alliance
Partners who own different percentages of equity in a separate company they have formed.
Nonequity Strategic Alliance
Two or more firms develop a contractual relationship to share some of their unique resources and capabilities.
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7. Reasons for Strategic Alliances
Market
Reason
Slow Cycle
Gain access to a restricted market
Establish a franchise in a new market
Maintain market stability (e.g., establishing standards)
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8. Reasons for Strategic Alliances (cont’d)
Market
Reason
Fast Cycle
Speed up development of new goods or service
Speed up new market entry
Maintain market leadership
Form an industry technology standard
Share risky R&D expenses
Overcome uncertainty
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9. Reasons for Strategic Alliances (cont’d)
Market
Reason
Standard Cycle
Gain market power (reduce industry overcapacity)
Gain access to complementary resources
Establish economies of scale
Overcome trade barriers
Meet competitive challenges from other competitors
Pool resources for very large capital projects
Learn new business techniques
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10. Complementary Strategic Alliances
Vertical Complementary Strategic Alliance
Formed between firms that agree to use their skills and capabilities in different stages of the value chain to create value for both firms.
Outsourcing is one example of this type of alliance.
Horizontal Complementary Strategic Alliance
Formed when partners who agree to combine their resources and skills to create value in the same stage of the value chain.
Focus is on long-term product development and distribution opportunities.
The partners may become competitors which requires a great deal of trust between the partners.
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11. Assessment of Cooperative Strategies
Complementary business-level strategic alliances, especially the vertical ones, have the greatest probability of creating a sustainable competitive advantage.
Horizontal complementary alliances are sometimes difficult to maintain because they are often between rival competitors.
Competitive advantages gained from competition and uncertainty reducing strategies tend to be temporary.
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12. Corporate-Level Cooperative Strategy
Corporate-level Strategies
Help the firm diversify in terms of:
Products offered to the market
The markets it serves
Require fewer resource commitments.
Permit greater flexibility in terms of efforts to diversify partners’ operations.
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13. Assessment of Corporate-Level Cooperative Strategies
Compared to business-level strategies
Broader in scope  More complex
More costly
Can lead to competitive advantage and value when:
Successful alliance experiences are internalized.
The firm uses such strategies to develop useful knowledge about how to succeed in the future.
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14. International Cooperative Strategies
Cross-border Strategic Alliance
A strategy in which firms with headquarters in different nations combine their resources and capabilities to create a competitive advantage.
A firm may form cross-border strategic alliances to leverage core competencies that are the foundation of its domestic success to expand into international markets.
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15. International Cooperative Strategies (cont’d)
Synergistic Strategic Alliance
Allows risk sharing by reducing financial investment.
Host partner knows local market and customs.
International alliances can be difficult to manage due to differences in management styles, cultures or regulatory constraints.
Must gauge partner’s strategic intent such that the partner does not gain access to important technology and become a competitor.
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16. Network Cooperative Strategy
A cooperative strategy wherein several firms agree to form multiple partnerships to achieve shared objectives.
Stable alliance network
Dynamic alliance network
Effective social relationships and interactions among partners are keys to a successful network cooperative strategy.
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17. Network Cooperative Strategies (cont’d)
Stable Alliance Network
Long term relationships that often appear in mature industries where demand is relatively constant and predictable
Stable networks are built for exploitation of the economies (scale and/or scope) available between the firms
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18. Network Cooperative Strategies (cont’d)
Stable Alliance Network
Arrangements that evolve in industries with rapid technological change leading to short product life cycles.
Primarily used to stimulate rapid, value-creating product innovation and subsequent successful market entries.
Purpose is often exploration of new ideas
Dynamic Alliance Network
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19. Competitive Risks of Cooperative Strategies
Partners may act opportunistically.
Partners may misrepresent competencies brought to the partnership.
Partners fail to make committed resources and capabilities available to other partners.
One partner may make investments that are specific to the alliance while its partner does not.
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20. Managing Risks in Cooperative Strategies
Competitive Risks
Inadequate contracts
Misrepresentation of competencies
Partners fail to use their complementary resources
Holding alliance partner’s specific investments hostage
Risk and Asset Management Approaches
Detailed contracts and management
Developing trusting relationships
Desired Outcome
Creating value
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